SCENE 4

In a very unpleasant-looking room a party is being held on Christmas Eve...drinks are flowing… the men are enjoying themselves… all except one in the corner.

Al (approaching RJ): What’s wrong RJ?

RJ: Sorry. Never enjoyed Christmas parties… especially in a bomb shelter, thousands of miles from my family, with death waiting outside the door.

AL (drunk) : Well, like it says, you might as well eat, drink, and be merry… tomorrow you’re gonna die (he laughs).

RJ: I KNOW that’s wrong, Al, but somehow I don’t remember why…

AL: Oh come on, RJ, have a drink or somethin’…

Voice (suddenly heard on loudspeaker) Now hear this! Now hear this! The bomb threat for this area has been lifted. Report to your regular barracks. (repeated)

Al (suddenly sobering): That don’t sound like anyone I know.

RJ (preparing to move) : So you know all the radio men in Asia?

Al: No, but there’s only a few in this area… that don’t sound like any of ‘em. You know, that thing could have been transmitted by the enemy.

RJ: Could have, but who knows? I’m sure not gonna sit here till I rot, while you play “Name that announcer.” And besides, you’ve eaten and drunk, and you seemed very merry a minute ago...why wait till tomorrow to die?

Al: Those stripes say you’re in charge (he gives a weak salute).

RJ (signaling for men to follow him. They get outside the door and we hear gunshots. Only Al and RJ come back in… RJ is wounded and speaks showing great pain) : Well, Al, that don’t seem right at all… you get merry, eat, drink… and I gotta die.

Al (examining him) : You won’t die… but you won’t walk very well again…

RJ: Well, another wonderful Christmas this year… my son gets a worthless father, my wife gets a crippled husband…and my present is another lousy year to live...if they ever get us out of here.

Al: It could be worse, RJ.

RJ: Oh yeah, Christmas COULD come every day…

back to office

Nancy: So, embittered by all your losses, when they finally got you out and sent you home, you launched out on a one-man campaign against life.

RJ: Gets pretty obvious, doesn’t it? Yeah, I got a few breaks and started moving. It’s been uphill, but I made it. And nobody can take this from me!

Nancy (glancing upward) : Nobody?

RJ: All right, all right. I never quit this religion bit altogether, you know. In fact, it’s good business to belong to a good-sized church . But Nancy, I’ve learned that faith just doesn’t pay the bills, doesn’t get you ahead, doesn’t give you the “good life.” Yeah, I go to church, but I guess I’ve never felt too comfortable there.

SCENE 5:

A church service. RJ is sitting in the back, showing great boredom. Suddenly he is called on to pray and does so like the Pharisees of old.

RJ (coughing to cover up surprise): Lord, we thank you for this beautiful building, and these beautiful people. We thank you that we’re not like the other people in this community, rioters, lazy, dirty… Thank you for our great wealth and especially, thank you that we were born in free America. Amen.

Pastor Collins (standing to deliver message to actual audience gathered) : Christmas is here again, with all its delights and all its pitfalls. And tonight I do not want to talk to you about how Christmas went on in Judea that night long ago. You know that story all too well. I want to try to help you live Christmas today. Jesus has warned us many times about seeking first the visible things of life, instead of allowing Him to supply them for us. He has promised to take care of our needs, if we will seek the INVISIBLE things. He has told us to build our lives on Him, and not on the sinking sands of material pleasures. He has taught us that if we are but willing to deny ourselves here, He has great things in store for us there, but that if we are unwilling to share our wealth now, the rewards of eternity will be closed to us. Listen to this clipping from a major newspaper:

“John Elzy, watchman at the Grand Eagle Department Store, while making his rounds last night

found the body of a man pushed under the bargain counter. The man was in His thirties, thin to the point of starvation, and had suffered several bruises and scars, evidently at the hands of fellow-shoppers. He crawled under the counter, it seems, for protection. But officials are unable to account for what appear to be nail-prints in His hands. Police are investigating.”

Now, at the same moment that all of us realized that that didn’t really happen, we all realized that it DID, and does happen every day. In our minds we push this precious Saviour of ours out of the way, out of our thoughts, our plans, our dreams… and then we wonder why life is so frustrating.

This year, do more than “keep Christ in Christmas”. This year, keep Christ in YOU. All else will follow.

I close with another solemn warning: Jesus told of a man who had a savings account that wouldn’t quit. My, was he secure. But God called him a fool, because he hadn’t made that first investment in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Hearing this, RJ is disgusted and leaves the church.) Let’s talk to God.

O Lord, we’re unworthy sinners. be merciful to us. Thank you for sending Jesus, for He is all we really need. (Congregation/audience sings, He is all I need)

back to office

Nancy: Oh that reminds me. The man who wants to see you. It’s your pastor. He’s been in the outer office waiting all this time.

(The following comments about and to the Pastor are spoken with a lightness of heart, yet the underlying bitterness cannot be hidden.)

RJ: Oh no, it’s either my money or my life. Send him in. (As Pastor Collins enters…) Hi ya preach, (motions for him to sit down, then ) what’s on your burdened mind today?

Pastor: Well, as a matter of fact, I do have a bit of a burden, RJ: it’s you.

RJ: Oh, here we go… I know, I’ve missed three Sunday’s worth of sermons, and offerings, and you’re here to deliver all six messages in person.

Pastor: Well, if you like…

RJ: I don’t…

Pastor: OK, let’s talk about you…

RJ: Interesting subject.

Pastor: To whom?

RJ: Oh, lots of people, especially at this time of year.

Pastor: Tell me, RJ, are you interesting to yourself?

RJ: Oh come on, Pastor, say what’s on your mind. I’ve had a rough day. I don’t want to be rude, but I’m not in the mood for word games today. All day I’ve been on that phone talking to church leaders who want my money. Listen, if that’s what you’ve come for, you may as well forget it.

Pastor: Sorry I caught you in this disposition. But I did have a contribution in mind.

RJ (rising): You’re kidding.

Pastor: No, the Lord wants a contribution from you, RJ. He wants your heart.

RJ: Ah lay off. I’m a member in good standing. I tithe. I come when I can. Don’t get preachy with me.

Pastor: I think you’ve changed the subject. We’re talking about your heart. I don’t want to offend you, RJ, but I feel that the way you’re going, with all your emphasis on this life, can only bring you frustration here, and possible…

RJ: Hell? Is that what you’ve come to tell me, Collins? Let me tell you. I’ve been through hell already. I don’t ever plan to go back. If you came in here to scare me out of a few more dollars, you just lost. I’ve known you for a long time, Collins, but you never pulled one like this before. Why don’t you go back to your sheltered temple and leave me to my frustrations?

Pastor (keeping calm throughout) : All right, RJ. But I’m going to be praying for you. Somehow you’ve got to know that not everyone is after your money (exit).

RJ (still hot, talking to the walls): Yeah, I’ll bet he’ll be praying. His church needs some new carpeting. He’s probably wanting me to buy a whole new building for him! And what business does he have walking in here like that, making statements about my life… frustrations… what does HE know anyway… surely no one has been telling him about things at home…